Stop and Stare

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Most of my days are spent checking items off my to-do list. I'm finishing projects, getting ready for the market, preparing for the next meeting or the next event. I'm fairly task-oriented so if I'm not "doing" something I feel a bit lost. And that's fine because I'm wired that way and it's how I operate best.

However, I'm also learning to take a day or a moment here or there and just stop and take in the scenery around me.  To stop and stare and take a photo of that memory. Because when I really take the time to look I appreciate the beauty that is all around me.

The beauty in a different kind of busy.


Beauty in beating wings.


Beauty in delicate petals.


Beauty in ripening fruit.


Beauty in the labor of another which provides food for his family as well as others.


Beauty of pollination.


Beauty in a field, standing at attention.


Beauty in someone who understands sanctuary



Take a moment, stop and stare, soak in the beauty around you.

Leisure by W. H. Davies

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

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